In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter CXLVIII: In the Embers

We live and we die
Like fireworks
Our legacies hide
In the embers
May our stories catch fire
And burn bright enough
To catch God's eye
We live and we die

Like fireworks
We pull apart the dark
Compete against the stars
With all of our hearts
Till our temporary brilliance turns to ash
We pull apart the darkness while we can

LUCY:

"The Impediment Jinx is quite simple, but versatile," I said, twirling my wand in my fingers as I walked backwards away from the D.A. "As the name would suggest, it's most commonly used to slow something or someone down. For example..." I backed up until I bumped into the wall. "Ready, Harry?"

"Ready, Lucy!"

I grinned and charged toward him at full speed.

"Impedimenta!"

Suddenly, it was as if I had started trying to run through molasses. I strained against the jinx, but my legs refused to cooperate. Everyone laughed as Harry turned and bowed dramatically several times.

"It's important to note, though," I shouted just as the jinx gave way thirty seconds later, "IT'S TEMPORARY!"

I broke free and jumped like a monkey onto Harry's back. He didn't fall (that time, anyway — we had practiced this little trick with cushions the night prior, with less success) and instead bowed again, sending me sliding off onto the cushion directly in front of him.

"We are professionals," he said, "so try to refrain from attempting to tackle your partner for now, alright?"

"If I really wanted to tackle you, Potter, I would have," I said as I bounced to my feet.

"Yes, of course, if you say so. The effectiveness of Impediment Jinx depends on the size of the target; the smaller the target, the stronger the impediment. It can freeze a butterfly entirely, but against the creatures in the maze, it either did nothing or next to nothing. It was stunning that helped the most in those situations, but we'll save that for next week."

"Any questions?" When there were none, I grinned. "Alright, in that case, partner up!"

I counted heads as everyone split, just to make sure we had an even number. Oddly enough, though, someone was missing; we were one person short.

"Harry, who's not here?" I asked in an urgent whisper.

He swore under his breath. "Er... okay, Zacharias is here, that's good, he's the one whose absence would concern me most."

"Agreed. Er, who doesn't have a partner?"

"Neville," Harry answered a second later.

"So Henry's missing," I said. "That's odd. I hope he's alright. You can ask the older Hufflepuffs if they know where he is, I'll be Neville's partner."

Harry nodded, and we headed our separate ways.

I waved Neville down. "Hi, Nev! Henry isn't here, so you're stuck with me tonight!"

"Is he alright?" he asked.

"Harry's going to find out," I replied. "Until then, why don't you try to, er, impede me?"

Neville nodded and took a deep breath. "Impedimenta, right?"

"Exactly!"

"Are you going to run toward me, too?"